Key points

•       The Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 (the Bill) will establish a new Act to provide a statutory framework for translating and interpreting services provided by the Department of Home Affairs.

•       The Bill establishes the functions of the Secretary in relation to translating and interpreting services and provides the Secretary with the authority to charge fees for such services.

•       Translating and interpreting services at the Australian Government level are provided by the Department of Home Affairs through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National).

•       The government has stated that the Bill ‘supports arrangements that are already in place and does not seek to alter the way in which TIS National carries out its operations and provides services’ (Explanatory Memorandum, p. 11).

•       In 2015, an Australian National Audit Office report recommended, in order to provide a sound basis for TIS National’s charging of fees for interpreting services, that the department review the policy basis for setting the fees to internal and external clients; and take steps to comply with the applicable requirements and government guidelines (p. 50).

•       At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees.

Introductory Info

Date of introduction: 26 November 2025
House introduced in: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Home Affairs
Commencement: The day after Royal Assent

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the Translating and Interpreting Services Bill 2025 (the Bill) is to establish a new Act to provide a statutory framework for translating and interpreting services provided by the Department of Home Affairs.

The Bill establishes the functions of the Secretary in relation to translating and interpreting services, including that the Secretary may charge fees for such services.

Background

Translating and interpreting services at the Australian Government level are provided by the Department of Home Affairs through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National).

The function has been with the Immigration (later Home Affairs) portfolio since 1958, following the establishment of government translating services in 1947. The Emergency Telephone Interpreter Service was introduced in 1973 as a free interpreting service for migrants with no or limited English language proficiency. Services were progressively extended, and currently include:

•       the Free Interpreting Service for eligible service providers (such as health practitioners, local government services, and NGOs supporting essential services) to access interpreting services to interact with clients with limited or no English language proficiency

•       the Free Translating Service for permanent and selected temporary visa holders to have up to 10 eligible documents translated into English within 2 years of their visa grant

•       paid fee-for-service phone, video and in-person interpreting services (it does not provide a paid document translating service)

•       interpreting services for government agencies (including at the state and territory level), and internal interpreting services for Home Affairs functions.

These services are all provided by TIS National, which appoints National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) credentialled language practitioners.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill states that TIS National has arrangements in place to support delivery of its services, including memorandums of understanding with state and territory governments, and a range of service agreements (p. 11). The Explanatory Memorandum emphasises that the Bill ‘supports arrangements that are already in place and does not seek to alter the way in which TIS National carries out its operations and provides services’ (p. 11).

There are other translating and interpreting services available, including at state and territory government level.

The legislative basis for TIS National’s charges

TIS National currently operates as a ‘cost recovery’ activity (p. 46). Cost recovery involves the Australian Government charging the non-government sector some or all of the efficient costs of a specific government activity. Broadly, under the fee-for-service model, the provider is charged the fee and generally an individual requiring an interpreter to access eligible services is not charged. However, some private providers may pass fees onto clients (Explanatory Memorandum, p. 14).

Most money received by non-corporate Commonwealth entities is treated as unappropriated general government revenue (that is, administered receipts) and must be remitted to the primary central bank account of the Australian Government called the Official Public Account (OPA), which is part of a set of bank accounts called the OPA Group (p. 5). However, under section 74 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), agencies are able to retain revenue collected for activities authorised under section 27 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (often referred to as ‘retainable receipts’).

Section 74 of the PGPA Act only provides for the receipt of revenue and does not provide the legislative authority to charge a fee. According to the Department of Finance’s Resource Management Guide for Retainable Receipts (p. 5), for an agency to be able to retain and spend amounts received, it requires both:

•       legislative authority in an Act, rule, instrument or other subordinate law and

•       policy authority from Cabinet or the Prime Minister.

In a 2015 ANAO audit into the Department’s Management of Interpreting Services, the ANAO noted that the department had ‘been unable to locate authorisation for its current charging approach’ and that the Department of Finance had advised ‘that in this situation a new authority should be sought from government’ (p. 46). The ANAO also found that TIS National’s cost recovery activities did not align with the criteria provided in the government’s Cost Recovery Guidelines as TIS National had been recovering amounts in excess of its costs (pp. 46–49).

In order to provide a sound basis for TIS National’s charging of fees for interpreting services, the ANAO recommended that the department review the policy basis for setting the fees to internal and external clients; and take steps to comply with the applicable requirements and government guidelines (p. 50). While the department agreed with the ANAO’s recommendations, it did not specifically address the authorisation issue in its response (p. 50).

Policy position of non-government parties/independents

At time of writing the Digest, no non-government parties/independents had commented on the Bill.

Key provisions

The purpose of the Bill is to provide a legislative framework for TIS National’s functions and to support its ongoing operations.

Clause 3 sets out the objects of the Bill, which include:

•       to continue and expand the translating and interpreting service that was established by the Commonwealth after the Second World War to support Australia’s immigration program

•       to provide for translating and interpreting services to support government functions

•       to provide for translating and interpreting services to support equitable access to key services for people with limited English language proficiency and

•       in coordination with the states and territories, to provide services to address national translation and interpretation needs that would not otherwise be met.

Clause 8 sets out the functions of the Secretary. These include enabling the Secretary to provide or arrange for the provision of translating or interpreting services at the Commonwealth or state or territory level for government, non-government and private sector entities, and anything else that may be incidental in performing those functions. The Secretary will also be responsible for developing and training translators and interpreters to support the functions of TIS National.

Clause 9 would provide an express statutory basis for the Secretary (or their delegate) to charge fees for the services of TIS National provided these fees do not amount to taxation. According to the Explanatory Memorandum (p. 4):

Any revenue raised through the provision of the services may be retained in accordance with section 74 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 to offset the cost of providing the service or returned to consolidated revenue as appropriate.

Clause 11 will retrospectively validate any arrangements entered into before the commencement of the provisions.

The Minister will have the power to make rules prescribing matters required or permitted by the legislation, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Bill (clause 13). These rules would be subject to disallowance. The Secretary is empowered to perform any other function relating to translation and interpretation as specified in the rules (paragraph 8(1)(i)).